Stan Van Gundy has never missed the postseason in his coaching career, and he doesn't want to start now.
This year, though, Van Gundy is also the Pistons' president, and his main focus is building a roster that will be competitive in the long run. He has made it very clear in recent weeks that if that means some short-term sacrifices, he's OK with it.
Friday night was a perfect example of how trying to put together the next great Pistons team might cost them a postseason spot this year. Detroit went 6-for-29 from the 3-point line in a 103-93 loss to Houston, its fifth straight defeat.
"We just missed a ton of wide-open shots," Van Gundy said. "Tolliver and Williams went 0-for-10, and all 10 were wide open. So were most of KCP's six. We played well enough in the third to take the lead, but we just could not make a shot."
The loss, combined with wins by Charlotte, Indiana and Boston, means the Pistons are now 12th in the Eastern Conference, four games behind the Pacers and Heat for the final playoff spot. Detroit would also have to pass the Celtics and Nets, who lead them by 2.5 games.
Detroit hosts Charlotte on Sunday in a game that is close to a must-win if they want to keep themselves in contention.
While Van Gundy didn't plan for a five-game losing streak, he acknowledged that, because of the moves he made at the trading deadline, he will have to rebuild his team's 3-point game this summer. Van Gundy traded away his starting point guard, D.J. Augustin, and two of his best 3-point shooters in Kyle Singler and Jonas Jerebko.
The moves brought Reggie Jackson, who Van Gundy expects to be the Pistons' point guard from the next several years, and Tayshaun Prince to replace Singler in the starting lineup. Jackson, though, isn't a 3-point threat and Prince doesn't have the legs to score from the outside like he did a decade ago.
In the current 5-game losing streak, the Pistons are shooting 26.7 percent on 3-pointers. In Van Gundy's offense, the offense is designed to come from two places -- inside the paint and behind the 3-point line. Against the Rockets, Detroit not only failed to hit threes, they only hit 46 percent in the paint, including Andre Drummond's 4-for-16.
"In the third quarter of this game, we were playing well enough to have the lead," he said. "But we just could not make a shot. Our offense is a struggle right now, and that's a big part of it."
Even with the shooting struggles, the Pistons were as close as four points late in the third. Josh Smith hit two free throws to make it 75-69, and James Harden abused Spencer Dinwiddie on the last two possessions of the period to change the game.
First, with the Rockets inbounding the ball under Detroit's basket, Dinwiddie lost focus for a second, long enough for Harden to break to the rim for an easy layup. Moments later, Harden dribbed down the clock to the final two seconds, then bamboozled the rookie with a step-back jumper that turned into a 3-point play and an 11-point lead.
The frazzled Pistons then missed their first 15 shots of the fourth quarter to fall behind by 24 points before a late rally against Houston's bench.
"I don't think anyone was taking bad shots," said Greg Monroe, who led the Pistons with 19 points. "Guys were getting good looks, but nothing was falling tonight."
Harden, who is quickly becoming one of the favorites in the MVP race, finished with 38 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.
"We knew he was going to get calls, but we weren't disciplined enough against him," Van Gundy said. "He's a great player, but we could have done a better job against him."
